Monday, March 19, 2012

Yesterday was double run day. I've offen wondered why more people especially those who are not "runners" don't do it. It's a rather simple thought. Break the long run into two runs. The first being the longer of the two and the second to get blood pumping through tired legs without destroying those legs. The end result is high mileage without the huge tax on the system. Yesterday as an example was 90 minutes in the morning at long run pace. Not easy but absolutely not hard. In the evening Marco and I ran 30 minutes. The pace of the second run was faster but it felt easy and within 5 minutes the legs were fresh again. 2 hours of running for the day.

Waking up this morning my legs are ready to go if I want them to. I know most triathlon coaches put a bike after the very long run. I'll just say I learned this trick from someone who's won more Ironman races than any coach on the planet. I tend to side with results.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

LIVE YOUR LIFE. BE TRUE TO YOURSELF. ATTACK BIG GOALS. AND WHEN SOMEONE SAYS IT CAN'T BE DONE, PROVE THEM WRONG - Kelly Williamson

I logged on to iroman.com to check on the ironman 70.3 san juan this morning. kelly was a close second off the bike. I went for a run knowing it was in the bag. not that bad things can't happen but i simply knew she would win. Read about it here.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Speechless....Or should I say tweetless. I can't believe I won Milan-San Remo...Simon Gerrans tweeted this after winning one of the toughest classic bike races in the world. 298K and it came down to a sprint.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Running is heating up. The most important US track meet comes this June to Eugene. Then in August the world stage is London and the best of the world will hit the track. Just one of those best is Bernard Lagat: Amazing at his age:

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Today I met two good runners on the track for a workout. It was unplanned for me but it's one of my goals this year. Don't worry about planning and just jump in when the opportunity arrises. The only thing I am making sure is that I don't jump in and jump in and jump in. I may not survive. So tonight with no real planning I jumped on the the track for a set of 800's.

The first 4 were good efforts but I good feel something wasn't right. I felt like I was fighting the entire way. About 1/2 way through #4 I realize it was my form. My strides were long and my arm swing was off. The faster I ran the worse I was. On #5 the two took off very strong and I jumped right into my bad form. I made it 1/2 a lap and then shut it down. I regrouped and recommitted to good form. So on #6 I focused on my running mates. I matched their foot strikes and relaxed as much as possible. The pace for me was still hard (not nearly as fast as theirs) but the effort was much more controlled. I ran the final 3 even paced and felt good at the end.

It's just a lesson on how important good form is. The better the form the "easier" running feels. That's a fairly simple idea if your really think about it. If you feel you are just fighting it out there on your next run, smooth out the stride, take a foot strike measurement, 18 steps in 6 seconds is 180 in 60. and run tall. It's amazing how it helps out.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Yesterday was long run day. There are many times on said long run day that I find myself lost in my own world. Checking out the area around me, doing everything but actually running. Running by the way is not just putting one foot in front of the other, it's mental too! Yesterday I had good run focus the entire day. I knew the last 4 miles were going to hurt (I planned that) and I knew that I needed to keep my head in the game or I would slack off to avoid the pain. When I got back to the coast highway I turned right and headed North. The highway was full of bikes as usual but all the bikes had "numbers" or something indicating that they were part of something organized. I hit the "View" with a small group of women on their bikes. One women gasped in awe of the view. That view is of Cardiff By the Sea, our home from Solana Beach.

Sometimes you concentrate on everything so much you forget why you do it in the first place. Take a second to take a step back and appreciate what you have. Yesterday was a good reminder of what we have in our life. It's just a place but Oh My what a place it is.

This year I've gone back to an old long run trick. I can't figure out why coaches don't incorporate this into their training. The trick is doing the long run and then adding 30-45 minutes of easy running that evening. Like yesterday. I ran 90 minutes in the rain, hail, wind and mud. It was miserable but I got it done. Then at 6pm Marco and I went out for a relatively easy 30 minutes. The wind was still there but the sun was out and the air was clean and clear. That second run felt like it was the first time I ran all day. It was long enough to be a workout and short enough to wake up the blood flow without damage. It was awesome. I know most triathlon coaches ask that you ride later after your long run. But I argue the second run is better. It turns 90 minutes into 2 hours for the day. It allows me to get a really good long run in without all the damage. Running 2 hours or 2.5 hours straight is damaging. Running 2 hours or 2.5 hours in two runs separated by hours is refreshing. Or as refreshing as it can be.....
Try it you'll like it....

Sunday, March 11, 2012

This is by far the best video of running form (Natural Running) I've seen so far. Notice virtually everything described is form related. It's not foot plant related and it's not shoe related. From leads to function. The more efficient your form the better function you will have.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Made it to 2am today. This mean's I'll be somewhat normal on Friday or Saturday. Not bad after 2 weeks on the other side of the world. I'll take it.

I came across the fitness station in Tokyo. Need to go for a lunch time ride around the park, no problem you can leave your bike here for the day. There are showers, a meditation room, snack room and of course a shop where you can do your own repairs. Need that all important transition run, get off the bike, park it and go. The Imperial Gardens and roughly 4 K loop for running and cycling is within 2 blocks of this station. In a big city like Tokyo 4 K of continuous riding or running is darn good. Just remember if you are on your bike to loop is counter clockwise or all left turns. They drive on the left in Japan.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

That familiar feeling is back in my body. The feeling that the time zone I'm in right now is not the time zone I'm really in. My body clock has no idea where it is. This now in it's 3rd week. Week 1 and 2 were on the other side of the globe in Asia and week 3 is the adjustment back to life. So here are my tips based on this:

Don't fight the sleep - Be happy with what you got and get on with your day. Eventually it will work it's way out.

Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate - No matter how much you drink water on the plane you will come off completely parched. It's just important to keep drinking water or electrolyte drinks often. Let's not forget hotels who are the bid dehydrators of the universe too.

Eat when you are hungry - Yesterday I wasn't hungry all day, so I ate small snacks. Last night at 1am I had a full meal because I was starving.

Get into your routine it will help your body come back. For me that means sweating early in the morning which is what I did today.

Monday, March 5, 2012

You may not know Yuki Kawauchi but after you read his story you'll appreciate the man he is. He wasn't a star runner in high school, he didn't go to college to run. He's not on an elite running team in Japan where you are taken care of. He's a working class runner who simply worked so hard and gave it all at the finish. Read his story here.

Yuki is quoted as saying: "I am willing to die when I am running" That's not something you hear too often. In fact probably not ever. Last year he crossed the line at the Tokyo marathon 3rd overall and collapsed. This year (last weekend in Tokyo) he trained harder and put great expectations upon himself. He ran to total exhaustion and collapsed again. This time though he was 14th. On Monday the day after the race he was back at work. He shaved his head to show people that he let them down. He felt bad because people were counting on him and he didn't pull through. His 14th place put his hopeful Olympic team bid in Jeopardy.

The point of this is when you visit Japan you see a head down work ethic beyond belief. You are welcomed by an extremely humble culture. It's a place where a guy like Yuki could actually pull it off becoming a national hero. I was just happy to run on the same roads Yuki ran on.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Today I'll do more shopping and in general keep myself busy. It's Sunday after all. My flight for home leaves today. I have a 5pm flight to LA. The flight home is much shorter than the flight out. I think this one is only 8 hours. I'm sure it will be sad to leave Tokyo. I certainly won't do everything I would like to do. Hopefully it's just another place I fall in love with which means I have to bring Mary and Marco here.

The bonus today is I'll be home around 2pm in San Diego. This mean's I get to have two Sundays in one day.

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Today I'm going to the park. In ever big city of the world there is a park where people run. I'm going there in Tokyo to run and to talk to runners. I'll spend the entire day in this park. Well OK not the entire day. I'm also going shopping today. Shopping for running shoes of course.

Friday, March 2, 2012

I'm spending all day at the Zoot office in Tokyo. This is where I start to understand what their challenges are. Most of the time they are listening to me pitch shoes. Today they are going to share their wins and loses with Zoot footwear.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Today I'll do my first run in a new country for me. I'm excited. Hopefully by the time this trip is done I'll have a good running story to tell.

Today we are going to a Triathlon house. It's a house hosted by Powerbar and Zoot that provides coaching and a place to live for triathletes. From what I understand it's a couple hours outside of Tokyo.